1. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ("the Commission"
or "the IACHR") is a principal organ of the Organization of American
States, responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights in the
hemisphere. It comprises seven independent experts who act on behalf of all the
OAS member states. The members of the IACHR are Dr. Hťlio Bicudo, its Chairman
(Brazil), Dean Claudio Grossman, First Vice Chairman (Chile), Dr. Juan E.
Mťndez, Second Vice Chairman (Argentina), Dr. Marta Altolaguirre (Guatemala),
Prof. Robert K. Goldman (United States), Dr. Peter Laurie (Barbados), and Dr.
Julio Prado Vallejo (Ecuador). The IACHRís Executive Secretary is Amb. Jorge
E. Taiana, and its Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression is Dr. Santiago
Canton.

THE REPORT

2. On June 2, 2000, the Commission adopted its Report on the
Situation of Human Rights in Peru. This report was drawn up from the information
and documents received before, during, and after the on-site visit the IACHR
made to the Republic of Peru on November 9Ė13, 1998, at the invitation of the
government.

3. In the first part of the report, the Commission analyzes
democracy and the rule of law in Peru. This includes a study of the structure of
the State, the current situation with the administration of justice and Peruís
international obligations, political rights, and freedom of expression. In the
second section of the report, the Commission analyzes economic, social, and
cultural rights, and the situation in the countryís prison system. The issues
this section focuses on are the rights of women and children, the prison
situation, and the rights of indigenous communities in Peru. As stipulated in
the Commissionís Regulations, a preliminary version of the report was
transmitted to the Peruvian State, which offered observations and comments and
provided information on certain specific matters. This information was analyzed
and, as appropriate, incorporated into the text of the report.

4. The Commission would like to stress three main issues in
the report that directly affect the currency of the rule of law and democracy in
Peru: (1) the lack of independence of the judiciary, (2) threats and attacks on
freedom of expression, and (3) restrictions on the free exercise and enjoyment
of political rights.

II. LACK OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY

5. The IACHR has seen that the Peruvian judiciary lacks
independence on account of constant interference by the executive branch. This
interference in the courts means that, in practice, citizens are without the
access to impartial justice guaranteed by the American Convention and other
international instruments freely ratified by the Peruvian State.

6. Typical examples of this can be seen in the dismantling of
the Constitutional Tribunal and in the process of judicial reform, with which
most judges have been subordinated to the executive. As it notes in the report,
the IACHR stresses that the arbitrary removal of three members of the
Constitutional Tribunal was directly related to that courtís decision ruling
that President Alberto Fujimori was ineligible to stand in the 2000 presidential
election. In addition, the Commissionís report notes that, "80 percent of
judges in Peru are temporary; in other words, they do not enjoy the guarantee of
stability and can be removed for any reason whatsoever."

7. Among the final comments in the report, the IACHR holds
that, "the weakening of the rule of law in Peru affects the fundamental
corollary of human rights: the right to appear before independent and impartial
judicial authorities so they can ensure respect for protected rights and the
essential principles of representative democracy in accordance with a separation
of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches that is real and not merely
formal." Hence, the judiciary is not able to perform its role as an
"impartial third party for settling conflicts, investigating and judging
those who commit breaches of public order, and controlling the constitutionality
of the acts of the other two branches of government."

III. THREATS AND ATTACKS ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

8. Following the on-site visit conducted in 1998 and in the
report published today, analyzing the right of free expression has been a key
component in assessing the human rights situation in Peru. In the report the
Commission concludes that the effective exercise of freedom of expression has
been severely undermined in the country, through the systematic use of the Stateís
intelligence services and security forces to harass and persecute investigative
journalists and opposition politicians. These campaigns of harassment and
persecution have involved such serious practices as kidnappings, threats,
torture, the illegal interception of private communications, and campaigns to
discredit opponents.

9. As it states in its report, the IACHR believes that these
violations are even more worrying given the current political situation in Peru,
since "the importance of respect for free expression is at its highest at
times when the citizenry requires the information necessary to elect those who
will be responsible for directing the affairs of government." The
Commission also repeats that, "the State must guarantee, without
discrimination, the right to transmit and receive information in order to enable
all citizens to enjoy their political rights to participate in the electoral
process, either as candidates or as voters."

10. The systematic violation of freedom of expression in Peru
could be seen even before the Commissionís visit, depriving the countryís
citizens during all that time of the debate of ideas and opinions that is the
basic precondition for ensuring a free election according to international
standards.

11. The IACHRís report concludes that Peru lacks the
minimum conditions necessary for full enjoyment of the right to freely express
opposition political ideas or to criticize the actions of the authorities in the
press. The Commission believes that the restrictions on free expression are a
major obstacle to the normal functioning of democracy in Peru. The rule of law
cannot be attained if the freedom to express ideas, denounce irregularities and
abuses, and criticize public officials is not guaranteed.

12. In order to address the many different aspects of these
violations of the right of free expression, the Commission has had to invoke the
full range of powers granted to it by the American Convention and other
applicable instruments: precautionary measures, reports on individual cases,
cases brought before the Inter-American Court, and special reports. In addition
to the special analysis contained in the document published today, the most
recent report by the IACHRís Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression
assessed the status of this basic right. The Commission approved this report and
resolved to publish it as one of the volumes of its 1999 Annual Report.

IV. RESTRICTIONS ON THE FREE EXERCISE OF POLITICAL RIGHTS

13. In its report, the IACHR conducts a detailed analysis of
the development of Peruís electoral process, underscoring its concern about
the restrictions of the free exercise of the political rights guaranteed by
Article 23 of the American Convention. First of all, the IACHR notes than an
analysis of the election of President Fujimori for a third period in office must
first consider the legitimacy of his candidacy. In this regard, in addition to
the arbitrary removal of three members of the Constitutional Tribunal because
they believed President Fujimori was ineligible for reelection, the Commission
must also emphasize the remarks made by the Peopleís Defender, the Peruvian
ombudsman, who after an exhaustive analysis of the countryís Constitution,
concluded that it was not possible "for a citizen to stand for the
presidency for three or more consecutive periods."

14. The criticisms regarding the illegitimacy of President
Fujimoriís candidacy must be seen in conjunction with a series of grave
irregularities in the electoral process itself. These serious faults were
reported by the electoral observation mission of the Organization of American
States and by numerous independent agencies from Peru (including the office of
the Peopleís Defender) and other countries. In spite of being filed on time
and with due documentation, these complaints were not addressed by the Peruvian
authorities, which decided instead to conduct the election with the
irregularities in place. The documents published by the OAS observation mission,
as well as those of observers from Peru and numerous other countries, agree that
the recent general election in Peru took place without meeting the applicable
international standards. In its report the Commission concludes that this
situation constitutes a serious violation of the political rights enshrined in
Article 23 of the American Convention.

* * * * * * *

15. The IACHR believes that the lack of judicial
independence, the serious restrictions of free expression, the harassment and
intimidation of opponents, and the serious irregularities in the election
represent a clear violation of the basic foundations for the rule of law in a
democratic system under the terms of the American Convention. The report thus
states that, "the recent election in Peru clearly constitutes an irregular
interruption of the democratic process." Moreover, "the Commission
calls for the reestablishment of the rule of law in Peru and the organization of
free and sovereign elections that meet the applicable international
standards," and to this end it offers the Peruvian State its cooperation.

16. Among the final comments in its report on Peru, the
Commission concludes that given current circumstances in the country, "the
international protection of human rights is assuming even greater fundamental
importance." In this regard, of particular concern is the governmentís
rebellious attitude toward its international human rights commitments in openly
defying the rulings of the Inter-American Court, since both the Court and the
Commission are "among the few avenues still open to persons subject to
Peruvian jurisdiction for attempting to the secure independent and impartial
justice they cannot obtain in Peru."

17. The Commission urges the Stateís authorities and the
different sectors of civil society to analyze the report and to engage in
constructive discussion on how to apply its recommendations, in order to
progress toward unrestricted currency of the human rights of Peruís
inhabitants, without any distinction whatsoever. Attached to this press release
is an executive summary that gives a general idea of the issues analyzed in the
report and of the IACHRís perceptions of the human rights situation in that
country. The full text of the report will be available shortly on the Commissionís
web page at